We’ve detailed how CNSNews.com has been using its “news” section to shill for the oil and gas industry, presumably a result of the more than $400,000 the Media Research Center has received from ExxonMobil since 1998. That shilling continues in a pair of CNS articles this week.
In a Nov. 4 article on “anti-oil activists” who planned a protest of the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline, Penny Starr makes sure to point out that “TransCanada claims, however, that ‘billions of gallons of oil are safely transported by pipeline’ and that protecting the environment is a priority.”
A Nov. 7 article by Starr details a report commissioned by the American Petroleum Institute to make the point that “Less than three percent of shares in 173 publicly-traded, U.S.-based oil and natural gas companies are owned by corporate management, contrary to the perception that a very small number of wealthy people are the major beneficiaries.” That dovetails with previous work Starr has done to parrot API talking points about oil company ownership. Unlike with her Nov. 4 article, Starr made no effort to include an alternative view.
A Nov. 9 article by Susan Jones claims that “Virginia’s two U.S. senators, both Democrats, and the commonwealth’s Republican governor are pressing the Obama administration to reconsider its decision to omit Virginia from its 5-year offshore drilling plan.”
It seems that ExxonMobil is continuing to get a decent return on its MRC money.